Stage 2
Stage 2 was mainly a test of speed and stamina, however in the 18th Tournament the introduction of the Salmon Ladder turned it into a test of strength too. Obstacles Obstacle Descriptions Slider Drop ' It was introduced as the first obstacle of Stage Two in SASUKE 25. It is essentially a modified version of the Stick Slider. The competitor must jump up and latch onto a bar. He must then slide the bar down a track, which has one drop. At the end of the track, the competitor can let go and fall onto a landing pad. '''Spider Walk ' There have been three different versions of this obstacle to date. In the first four competitions, it was the first and longest obstacle with 8 sets of panels, sometimes taking as much as half of the allotted time. The obstacle required the competitor to traverse the 1.2m-width space between two parallel walls without touching the ground. The third set is called the "Moving Wall" which is a segment moving up and down, usually requiring a shift in direction. The sixth to eighth set are the ascending portion called "Spider Climb". In the 5th and 6th Competition, it was shortened to five large sets of panels, each of which moved independently of the others. In the version used from the 7th to the 17th Competition, the competitor had to travel up, across, and down two parallel walls in an upside-down "J" shape. The two versions used in the 1st-6th tournaments ended at a pole referred to as the "Fireman's Pole". A can of adhesive spray is available at the start of the obstacle. Bare hands must be used or the contestant will be disqualified. '''Note: In the 1st-3rd competitions, throughout the entire obstacle there were only mats to fall on. In the 4th competition, the first half was water, and the second half was padded with mats. From the 5th-17th competitions, the area under the whole obstacle was filled with water. Moving Walls ''' From the 1st to 4th Competition it is the third set of the panels in the Spider Walk. This set of the walls is automatically moving up and down slowly. '''Note: In 5th and 6th competition, there are two sets of the panels (the second and fourth set) moving up and down in the Spider Walk, but TBS officially does not make them as an independent obstacle or calling them the "Moving Walls", but just considers the whole Spider Walk as one obstacle only. Spider Climb ''' From the 1st to 4th Competition it is the sixth to eighth set of the panels with the ascending portion in the Spider Walk. '''Note: this area is not related to the "Spider Climb" that was found in the 5th-17th competitions' Final Stage. Tackle Machine ' The competitor must push a 50kg weight down a tunnel to reach the exit to the next obstacle the spider walk. '''Narrow ' The competitor must cross two sections of ledge on a wall, with water below. The second section has two short strips sticking out of the wall at about knee height to increase the difficulty. '''Note: G4 calls this obstacle the "Ledge Walk". Chain Reaction ' The competitor must ride two perpendicular zip-lines over a pit of water, switching between them in midair. Each zipline has a chain hanging from it by a single point. Competitors must grasp the chain on the first zip-line, ride to where the first chain slams into the scaffold, then switch to the next chain in midair, and ride the second zip-line to the end of the obstacle. During the switch, competitors may kick off a nearby solid wall. The first swing is 9.5 meters, and the second is 7.5 meters. Competitors are required to wear gloves (for safety reasons) when holding the chains, which they must discard prior to reaching the Spider Walk, or they are disqualified. '''Downhill Jump ' The competitor must slide down a track standing on an snowboard-like object, and then jump to a rope on a track, which then swings towards a mat which the competitor must jump onto. Kunoichi's Super Jump is similar to this. In the 19th Competition, G4 dubbed this obstacle as the '''Super Jump. The angle of this track has been variable in each tournament; the slope was gentlest was in the 18th tournament (35°), increased in the 19th and 20th (55°), and reduced in the 21st (40°), in the 22nd it was 50°. Brick Climb ' The competitor must climb a wall with bricks protruding from it. The wall is approximately 3.5 meters high. '''Salmon Ladder ' The competitor must grab a bar which is resting on two parallel walls. The walls have seven sets of notches for the bar to rest on, with the gap between the last two sets larger than the previous ones. The bar is not bound to the wall in any way. Once the competitor's feet leave the mat, the landing mat from the Downhill Jump is taken away. The competitor must use his momentum to climb, raising the bar from notch to notch until to the top. In Sasuke 24, after climbing up the second wall set, they go directly into the Unstable Bridge. 'Double-Salmon Ladder ' Consists of two parallel walls, each with four rungs. Now, competitors now have to climb the first set from the back. After turning their body around, they have to transfer to another set of parallel walls with rungs by jumping from the first wall set to the second. After climbing up the second wall set, they go directly into the Unstable Bridge. 'Stick Slider ' After reaching the final notch of Salmon Ladder, the competitor must land the bar onto two declining tracks in a "V" shape. Finally, he must drop from the bar onto a mat below. In the 21st Competition, the bar was longer, and the Stick Slider was angled less steeply. Small weights were also added to both ends of the bar to prevent the bar from falling off the Stick Slider, but this arguably also increased the difficulty of the Salmon Ladder. 'Five Continuous Hammers ' The competitor must walk across a thin plank, avoiding the 5 large hammers swinging back and forth. In some competitions, the competitor was disqualified for coming into contact with the hammers in any way, while in others, the competitor just had to complete the obstacle without falling. 'Balance Tank ' The competitor must balance atop a large rolling barrel and ride the barrel to a platform across a distance of 5.4 meters. It was replaced by the Delta Bridge in the 16th tournament, but brought back in the 17th tournament, then again replaced by the Net Bridge in the 18th tournament. In the 24th Competition, it is brought back but a rope is added at the end of the obstacle so that the competition must climb a little to the platform when he completed the ride of the barrel. '''Grip Hang The competitor must hang onto two outward-facing ledges and cross a small gap. 'Net Bridge ' The competitor must climb across a cargo net to reach the next platform. 'Sky Walk ' Little is known about this obstacle since no competitor has had the chance to attempt it. It appears, from a similar obstacle in the Sasuke 21 trials, that the competitor must use only a long narrow ledge and a wall for support to climb across a large gap. Its function is likely similar to the Cliff Hanger. 'Swing Ladder ' A set of monkey bars must be crossed by the competitors. The monkey bars are set on a tilting mount on the scaffolding above, and swing substantially when competitors traverse it. It is quite similar to KUNOICHI's "Climbing Bars". 'Unstable Bridge ' Competitors are required to cross two boards that hang on the scaffolding above, both can swing freely as the competitor crosses them making it more difficult and strenuous at the same time, also the second board is suspended on two chains, one on each edge making it more unstable and harder to cross, similar to the Delta Bridge as competitors must hang from both edges while crossing the boards. 'Reverse Conveyor ' The competitor must crawl though a small tunnel with a conveyor belt going the opposite direction. It is 90cm wide and 6.3 meters long, and travels at a speed of 20km/h. 'Metal Spin ' An array of chains dangle from a horizontal wheel that freely spins, resembling a chandelier, over a water hazard. The competitor must jump to grasp one of the chains, spinning the wheel to the other side. Starting in the 15th competition, the chains were replaced with plastic bungee chains, requiring a strong grip to prevent the chains from slipping out of the competitors' hands. 'Wall Lifting ' The competitor must lift three heavy walls and cross under them to advance. This obstacle has been in 24 out of 25 seasons, (all expect the 18th, where the Shoulder Walk was used). Initially, the walls were 20kg (44 pounds), 30kg (66 pounds), 40kg (88 pounds). Later, they were increased to 30kg, (66 pounds) 40kg (88 pounds), and 50kg (110 pounds). It was replaced by the Shoulder Walk in the 18th competition, but then returned in the next competition, where it was shown that the walls were changed from steel to wood. In the 21st competition, the walls were raised slightly off the ground to prevent injury. 'Shoulder Walk ' The competitor must cross two bridges carrying a bar on his shoulders that has two weighted chambers hanging from each end of the bar, weighing 40kg (88 pounds) in total. The bridges have a small gap between them, and the second bridge is offset to the left.